mountain, deeply embosomed in huge cliffs, there lies a piece of water called Scales Tarn, which exaggerating travellers have described as an abyss of waters upon which the sun never shines, and wherein the stars of heaven may be seen at noon-day.

In the same tarn, tradition asserts that two immortal fish have their abode. Amongst the acknowledgments which the Minstrel, in his " Song at the feast of Brougham Castle," states had been made to the secret power of the good Lord Clifford, when a shepherd boy in adversity, was the following:

"And both the undying fish that swim

In Bowscale Tarn did wait on him,

The pair were servants of his eye

In their immortality;

They moved about in open sight,
To and fro for his delight."

The old hall at Threlkeld has been long in a state of dilapidation, the only habitable part having been for years converted into a farm-house. This was one of the places of residence of Sir Lancelot Threlkeld, a powerful knight in the reign of Henry VII., and uncle to the Lord Clifford above-mentioned, who was wont to say that "he had three noble houses-one for pleasure, Crosby in Westmorland, where he had a park full of deer; one for profit and warmth, namely, Yanwith, nigh Penrith; and the third, Threlkeld on the edge of the vale of Keswick, well stocked with tenants to go with him to the wars." These "three noble houses" are now the property of the Earl of Lonsdale, and are all occupied as farm-houses.

A short distance on the Keswick side of Threlkeld, the road leading into the Vale of St John branches off on the right. A branch of the river Greta, called St John's Beck, runs through this valley, which is narrow, but extremely picturesque, being bounded on the right by Nathdale or Naddle Fell, and on the left by Great Dodd, a hill at the extremity of the Helvellyn chain. The chapel occupies a striking situation on the right, at the summit of the pass between St John's Vale and Naddle. Though standing at such an elevation, the sun never shines upon it during three months of the year. There are fine retrospective views of Saddleback, and the peculiar conformation of the summit which gives its name to the mountain may be clearly perceived. The high road to Keswick is gained four miles and a half from Threlkeld. From the end of Naddle Fell, in the Vale of Thirlspot, near to Thirlemere, some sweet glimpses of that lake may be obtained. The rock which has given celebrity to the valley stands near the extremity on the left. The resemblance to a fortification is certainly very striking. It is the scene of Sir Walter Scott's Bridal of Triermain, in which there is the following description of the appearance which the rock presented to the charmed senses of King Arthur :

"With toil the King his way pursued

By lonely Threlkeld's waste and wood,
Till on his course obliquely shone

The narrow valley of ST JOHN,

Paled in by many a lofty hill,
The narrow dale lay smooth and still,
And, down its verdant bosom led,
A winding brooklet found its bed,
But midmost of the vale, a mound
Arose with airy turrets crown'd,
Buttress, and rampire's circling bound,
And mighty keep and tower;
Seem'd some primeval giant's hand
The castle's massive walls had plann'd,
A ponderous bulwark to withstand
Ambitious Nimrod's power,

Above the moated entrance slung,
The balanced drawbridge trembling hung,
As jealous of a foe;

Wicket of Oak, as iron hard,

With iron studded, clench'd, and barr'd,
And prong'd portcullis, join'd to guard
The gloomy pass below.

But the grey walls no banners crown'd,
Upon the watch-tower's airy round
No warder stood his horn to sound,
No guard beside the bridge was found,
And, where the Gothic gateway frown'd,
Glanced neither bill nor bow.

Keswick is nine miles and a-half from Threlkeld by way of the Vale of St John. The ridge of Castlerigg, whence there is the splendid prospect already noticed, is crossed one mile from Keswick.

A drive round the lake of BASSENTHWAITE is frequently taken by tourists whilst making Keswick their head-quarters. This lake lies three miles to the north of Derwentwater, from which it is separated by low meadows, that in wet weather are flooded to some extent; it is four miles long, and about one mile broad. The pleasant village of Portinscale is a mile and a-quarter from Keswick. Two miles beyond, the road which must be pursued quits the old Cockermouth road near the village of Braithwaite,-between the two villages the tourist has Grisedale Pike directly before him. The road then becomes elevated, forming a fine terrace whence the beautiful vales of Thornthwaite, Braithwaite, and Keswick, are beheld, with all their luxuriance of wood. Skirting the base of Lord's Seat and Barf, and after making many ascents and descents disclosing delightful views of the lake, backed by Skiddaw, Ouse Bridge is crossed nine miles and a-half from Keswick. The bridge spans the Derwent soon after it issues from the lake. A quarter of

a mile beyond is Armathwaite Hall, the seat of Sir H. R. F. Vane, Bart. The Castle Inn, where refreshment may be taken, is ten miles from Keswick, which town the tourist reaches by a road eight miles in length, passing under Skiddaw. Bassenthwaite Church is seen on the right near the margin of the lake.

The last excursion from Keswick which we shall detail is that by way of Borrowdale to BUTTERMERE, CRUMMOCK, and LOWES WATER. The road has been already described as far as Bowder Stone, a little beyond which it joins the road from Watendlath. A mile below Bowder Stone is Rosthwaite, where there is a small inn. A short distance farther a road strikes off on the left through Stonethwaite to Langdale, passing over the ridge called the Stake. One mile from Rosthwaite the road into Wastdale, by the pass of Sty Head, continues up Borrowdale on the left. Near the deviation is Seatoller, the residence of Abraham Fisher, Esq., in the neighbourhood of which is the celebrated mine of plumbago, or black lead, as it is usually called. It has been worked at intervals for upwards of two centuries, but, being now less productive, the ore has been excavated for several years consecutively. This is the only mine of the kind in England, and there are only one or two places in Scotland where plumbago has been discovered, but the lead obtained there is of an inferior quality. The best ore procured at the Borrowdale mine sells for L. 1, 10s. a pound. In the vicinity of the lead mine are four yew trees of extraordinary size.

At Seatoller the ascent of Buttermere Haws is commenced. This hill is steep and the road rough, private carriages, therefore, should not be taken over. It is eleven hundred feet in height, and commands noble prospects of the receding valley of Borrowdale. Helvellyn may be descried over the Borrowdale Fells. The hill called Glaramara is on the left. With a little stretch of fancy the streams may be heard

Murmuring in Glaramara's inmost caves.' On the right of the pass is the hill named Yewdale.

The road descends rapidly into the head of Buttermere dale; Honister Crag, presenting an almost perpendicular wall of rock, rising on the left to the height of fifteen hundred feet. In the face of the rock, a considerable height above its base, large chambers have been cut, tier above tier, in which roofing-slates are excavated. The slates are shaped in the quarry, and brought down by men on wooden hurdles. These quarries belong to General Wyndham. Two miles below Honister Crag, and four from Seatoller, is a farm house near the head of Buttermere Lake, called Gatescarth, whence a mountain road crosses by the pass of Scarf Gap, into the head of Ennerdale, and reaches Wastdale Head by means of another pass called Black Sail. Hasness, the residence of General Benson, occupies a pretty situation on the left near the margin of the lake. A series of mountain summits tower over the opposite shore of the lake. The Hay Stacks, so termed from their form, are the most eastern; then follow High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike. A stream issuing from a small tarn which lies between the two last, makes a fine cascade, bearing the name of Sour-Milk